Round for testing shotgun condition



Jan. 16, 1962 c. c. CARLSON 3,016,832

ROUND FOR TESTING SHOTGUN CONDITION Filed March 28, 1961 3,016,832 ROUND FOR TESTING SHOTGUN CGNDITION Clinton C. Carlson, 5335 NE. 39th Ave., Portland, Oreg- Filed Mar. 28, 1961, Ser. No. 98,932

' 1 Claim. (Cl. 102-41) This invention pertains generally to shoulder guns and means for maintaining such guns in condition for accurate firing. More particularly my invention relates to shoulder guns with smooth bore barrels which use .a shotshell cartridge for each shooting round of the gun barrel. The live cartridge is understood to be a straight cylindrical shell of waterproof paper, plastic, thin metal or the like, set into a heavier metal walled base substantially filled with propellant powder blocked conlongitudinally therein with felt wads. The other end of the cylinder is filled with metal pellets, or shot, similarly kept in position by transverse wads. A primer mixture held between a battery cup and a primer cup is centrally inset into the base of the cartridge to ignite the propellant powder when the primer cup is struck by the firing pin of the gun.

Attention is called to the Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns by Jack OConner, copyright 1961 by Outdoor Life with Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 61-6454: Beginning on page 373 is a sufficient exposition of the live ammunition, cartridge, or round for the modern shotgun.

Beginning on page 348 of Mr. OConners book, above noted, are excellent descriptions of some of the more popular high grade modern shotguns. The descriptions emphasize the need for careful handling and maintenance of fine guns if the desired firing results are to be had with them.

As here to be understood a round for a shotgun is a cartridge or shotshell which is a single assembly of a nonmetallic shell with a metallic base wherein the shot pellets are in the shell backed up in the base thereof by the shot expellant powder and the ignition primer in the battery cup positioned to be struck by the firing pin through a central hole in the base. Then a testing round is understood to be a powderless cartridge which can not be fired to expel shot therefrom but which can be put through a gun by the manipulation of the action or mechanism normal to the design of the particular gun for the purpose of testing the condition of the parts of the gun and their assembly therein.

It is the primary purpose of this invention to provide for the gunsmith who is to take the care of a fine shotgun that it deserves, a dry round, or powderless, cartridge with which the shotgun can be tested in all its mechanical operations without danger to the user or to the gun.

It is therefore a second object of this invention to provide a gunsmith with precision built means for use with a shotgun to test the nicety of the guns action without firing a loaded cartridge therein.

It is a third object to provide a test round, or'powderless cartridge, for a shotgun, which cartridge is so made that it can be repeatedly put through the gun with all the operating motions of the gun and which cartridge will have substantial external dimensional and dynamic similarity with a live or powder including cartridge for the same gun.

How these and other objects are attained are made plain in the following specification referring to the attached drawing in which-- FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of the dry fire cartridge of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in base end elevation of the imitation V cartridge of FIG. 1.

Patented Jan. 16, 1962 FIG. 4 is a view in longitudinal diametrical plane section along the line 44 of FIG. 1.

Like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing, a preferred form in which my invention of an imitation, or powderless, shotgun round or cartridge 10 may be furnished, includes a stainless steel base cup 11 internally threaded at its open end to be threadedly engaged with the externally reduced and threaded open end of molded plastic cartridge shell 12.

The radially rolled rim 13 of stainless steel base 10 imitates, with the required loading and extracting exactitude required of the cartridge in the gun, the rim of the live cartridge required for extracting the spent cartridge from the gun barrel.

The longitudinally rolled rim 14 of the plastic shell 12 imitates with the exactitude required for automatic handling from the gun magazine to the gun barrel chamber and for extraction of the spent cartridge from the chamber of the rolled in extra length of the paper shell which holds the outer end wad which holds the shot pellets in the common form of live cartridge shell.

Within the hollow plastic cylindrical shell 12 is a metal piston 15 biased towards the blind end of shell 12 by spring 16. Piston 15 is reduced in diameter at 17 to remove mass therefrom in order that the total weight and distribution of weight in my test round here disclosed will be as nearthe same as that of a live round or cartridge as it is essential to make it. If desired, piston 15 can be grooved to reduce weight so that piston 15 may be longer with neck 17 shorter and the positions and sizes of grooves 18 used to put the center of gravity of the test round at the desired position therealong.

Just as there is a hole formed coaxially through the center of the live cartridge base to receive the battery cup of the primer mixture therein so that it can be struck by the firing pin to shoot the gun, so in the present test shell there is a center hole 19 formed through the base cup 11 to receive the molded plastic plug 20 formed with a central annular rim 21 and similar end extensions 22. Guide 23 formed on the end of piston 15 guides one end of spring 16 while the appropriate end plug 20 guides the other end of spring 16 whereby plug 20 and piston 15 are biased towards their essential positions in the proper assembly of the test round 10.

Any available means can be used, like the threads 24 to secure the base 11 to the shell 12. However the fine thread connection shown is preferred in order that the test piece can be disassembled for inspection or cleaning if desired. And since it is a particular feature of the invention that the plug 20 is inwardly movable against the bias of the spring 16 to test the action of the firing pin of the gun, it is possible for someone to be playing with the invention and push the plug entirely inside the shell. It would then be desirable to disassemble thedevice and reassemble the parts in proper order.

Note also that the plug 20 can be reversed end for end to get double use therefrom in case there is wear thereon from the firing pin.

Particular attention is also called to the accurately centered groove 30, sunk concentrically into the flat outer end face 25 of base cup 11. Groove 30 served only as an accurate visual check of the lateral position of the shell latch of a pump type or automatic type shotgun when the gunsmith is checking the accuracy of the mechanism thereof. 'For instance, it is remembered that the cartridges in the magazines of either the pump or automatic type guns are backed up by magazine springs biasing the cartridges towards the elevator or carrier which transfers a new cartridge up to the firing chamber when the spent cartridge isejected. To prevent more than one cartridge leaving the magazine at a time or to prevent any cartridge leaving the magazine at a wrong time, the gun carries a shell latch or a carrier lock biased to swing in from the side to cover a small part of the base of the cartridge to prevent its movement out of the magazine until the carrier is in position to receive the cartridge and the shell latch or carrier lock is pushed out of the way. Groove 30 in the present invention indicates the extent inwardly over the outer edge of the rim 13 of the base cup 11 which the shell latch or carrier lock of the gun should stand idle so that in operation it will allow the cartridge to leave the magazine only when it should and always when it should. With only the test cartridge'of this invention in the magazine its position with respect to the latch or lock is readily visible for check.

Having recited some of the objects of my invention, illnstrated and described a preferred form in which my invention may be practiced and explained its operation, I claim: I

A round for testing shotgun condition, a round being 7 understood to be a cartridge or shotshell and a testing round being understood to be a powderless cartridge which can not expel a shot therefrom but which can be put through a gun by the normal manipulation of the action or mechanism of the gun to test the condition of the moving parts of the gun and their assembly together, said round for testing shotgun condition comprising a hollow body including a cylindrical shell having a closed end and an open end, a hollow cylindrical base having a closed end and an open end, the closed end of said base being formed with an axial hole therethrough, the open ends of said shell and said base being separably overlappingly secured coaxially together, a firing pin testing plug formed at its mid length with an annular rib therearound normal to its axis and including a pair of extensions of lesser diameter than said annular rib extending coaxially from said annular rib the same distance on either side of said rib, either of said pair of extensions of said plug being formed to be received from inside said base axially guidably in said hole in said closed end of said base less than the axial thickness of the closed end of said base, a piston mass enclosed in said hollow shell for free axial movement therein, the end of said piston adjacent said plug being formed with an axial extension thereon of approximately the same diameter as that of either of said extensions, a compression type spring confined in said hollow body between said other extension of said plug and said extension of said piston,

the outer end surface of said base being generally flat and normal to the axis of said base, said base adjacent its flat outer end surface including a radially extending annular rim for engagement by the round extractor of said gun and said outer end surface of said base being formed with a radial distance gauge groove sunk therein concentric therewith for visual inspection withvrespect thereto of the radially inward throw of the shell latch of either a pump gun or an automatic gun being tested with the round for testing shotgun condition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,405,308 Jack Aug. 6, 1946 2,892,408 Simpson June 30, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 14,179 Great Britain of 1895 321,332 Great Britain Nov. 7, 1929 

